NEW YORK CITY-Weill Cornell Medical College on Wednesday brokeground on its $650-million Medical Research Building going up onEast 69th Street in Manhattan, a facility that will more thandouble the institution’s existing research space. It’s thecenterpiece of a $1.3-billion capital campaign, for which $1billion has already been raised in less than four years.

Tishman Construction is serving as construction manager on theproject, having previously gut-renovated a former Rolls-Roycedealership on East 61t Street into an office and research facilityfor the college. The 18-story Medical Research Building eightblocks to the north is ground-up construction and is scheduled tobe completed by the end of 2011.

The 480,000-square-foot building will include 16 floors ofprogrammed space dedicated to areas such as cancer, cardiovasculardisease, children’s health, neurodegenerative diseases such asParkinson’s and Alzheimer’s and global health and infectiousdiseases. Design firm Polshek Partnership Architects is emphasizingopen floor plans and energy efficiency, according to a release.